Pied Wheatear on the Wirral!

Pied Wheatear had been missing from my arsenal of British Wheatears for some time now, having never managed to make it down to the Nottinghamshire bird back in 2013. With no readily available birds in the 5 years since, I therefore jumped on the chance to pay a visit to the bird that took up residence on the sea wall at Dove Point in Meols on the Wirral in November, less than an hour away from home and showing extremely well to the masses.

Pied Wheatear!

The Wheatear and its many admirers! 

Sure enough, upon pulling up next to the assembled crowd of birders and cameras, the Pied Wheatear was instantly on view – quite possibly the easiest and quickest twitch I have ever been to!

Over the next few hours the Wheatear continued to show exceptionally well, flitting from point to point on the sea wall and never disappearing for more than a minute at a time, on one occasion flying down on to the floor and proceeding to scurry right up to my boots! Extremely confiding and showing no fear, it didn’t even seem too bothered when locals passed right next to it with their dogs!

Aged as a first winter male, whilst some questioned the ID with relation to the width of the black band on the end of the tail (and the similarity to Eastern Black-eared Wheatear), tail patterns vary between individuals and this particular bird is well in the range for Pied. The dark feather colouration of the mantle along with the white edges to the feathers creating a ‘scaly’ effect are also both classic for Pied, nailing the ID.

Note the scaly looking back - a key feature for Pied Wheatear

Having already been present for two days before being identified from photos and the news put out to the masses, this was the first record for Cheshire/Wirral and a fantastic local bird to connect with.